Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

My Expectations Before Reading

I braved the hype and finally read The Fault in Our Stars. Before I read this book, I knew surprisingly little about it, considering the massive popularity and the release of the movie. For the most part, I managed to skip past all the spoilers, especially on Tumblr. Of course I knew that John Green wrote it and that it was about cancer. Oh and I didn’t manage to escape the metaphor of the cigarette. Then again, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so that doesn’t really count.

In terms of expectations, I tried to ignore all the hype surrounding this book. Still, I couldn’t ignore that John Green wrote The Fault in Our Stars—not necessarily because of who he is but rather because I’ve read two of his stories before. The first was A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle in Let It Snow, and the second was An Abundance of Katherines.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle amused me greatly, and I thoroughly enjoyed Green’s writing style for the story that he had written. As for An Abundance of Katherines, it’s one of those books I disliked so much, I still am irked just thinking about that book. After reading The Fault in Our Stars, I’ve decided that John Green is a hit-and-miss kind of author for me.

My Thoughts on The Fault in Our Stars

Mixed Feelings

What I enjoyed most about The Fault in Our Stars was the prose. Paradoxically, I didn’t very much care for Hazel’s voice. The writing style itself was clear and concise, with few words wasted. But the voice of Hazel’s left me unconvinced.

I hated hurting him. Most of the time, I could forget about it, but the inexorable truth is this: They might be glad to have me around, but I was the alpha and the omega of my parents’ suffering.

Moments like these sucked me right into The Fault in Our Stars. Yet that was more because of the linguistic flair than because of the story or the characters. Like I said, in terms of the prose, it was a pleasure reading this book. However, this also worked against the book. The signature wittiness I found endearing in A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle somehow resurfaced in The Fault in Our Stars. Instead of charming me into loving The Fault in Our Stars, that built a barrier that prevented me from fully immersing myself in the life of Hazel.

Lack of Depth

Either way, the characters themselves were likeable enough to me, even though they lacked the depth I’d expect from people who were on the brinks of their deaths. They lived day-to-day, not knowing if that day would be their last. Somehow that didn’t translate. In fact, the frailness and fragility of Hazel didn’t even came across, in my opinion. View Spoiler »I was particularly incredulous when Hazel still had the energy to sleep with Gus for the first time in the Amsterdam hotel, after she had been so breathless climbing the stairs in the Anne Frank House. « Hide Spoiler

Sweet Romance

In terms of the romance, the relationship between Hazel and Gus was very sweet and innocent, and I couldn’t help but root for Gus. He pursued Hazel with all his heart, was unrelenting, fully treasuring every moment that he had with Hazel. I liked that for all the time that they spent together, they didn’t sideline Isaac, who was Gus’ best friend.

Witty vs. Solemn Tone

Sadly, even though I got to know Hazel, Gus and Isaac pretty well in terms of their ailments, likes and dislikes, I just didn’t connect. At no point during the book did I feel inclined to cry, even though I tend to be very emotionally involved in the books that I read. I wasn’t moved much by the story. I think in part that’s because I felt the approach to the issues at hand was too light-hearted and a bit too concerned with wittiness.

It’s not that I expect a book such as The Fault in Our Stars to be solemn every single moment but glossing over the worst sides of cancer, and indulging so much in the romance between Hazel and Gus left a lot to be desired in terms of the pain that they suffered physically, mentally and emotionally because of their terminal illnesses.

I was pretty apprehensive about the hype as well — it sounded like a book too good to be true, and I was proven right, even though I still enjoyed it overall. I can’t remember much about the writing because I didn’t find it that outstanding, but I agree that it made it harder for me to connect to Hazel. I haven’t read the rest of John Green’s books, but yup, there was just this wittiness to her that made her so distant. I mean, are there teenagers like that out there, much less two? :P

And yeah, I totally get what you mean about the spoilery bit. That was just unrealistic on so many different levels. Thankfully it didn’t stop me from liking the romance, too. Even though Gus was kind of unrealistic (like I said, do teenagers like Gus and Hazel even exist?!), the chemistry between them was very well done.

What made the book a four-star read for me in the end, though, was the fact that I cried. I didn’t see the ending coming at all! I guess I’m just so used to happy endings that I didn’t think a book, much less a contemporary, could end like that. So the feels played a huge part in me liking the book. If I hadn’t cried, it would’ve definitely been a three-star book.

I’m glad TFiOS turned out to be a good book for you! I think for me, knowing that people cried automatically means I won’t cry unless it’s something so heart wrenching, I forget even myself. And I’ve read a few contemporaries in the past year that didn’t end on a happy note, so I wasn’t too taken aback by the ending for this book either.

I would say do check out Let it Snow around the Christmas period. It’s a very cozy and fun wintery read that I would definitely recommend for the holiday season!Joséphine recently posted Retrospect #29: July 20th

I really enjoyed this review, and that your thoughts about the book are ‘against the grain’, because sometimes I feel like people jump on the band wagon or, if they did dislike a popular book, just skip reviewing it.

I found TFIOS to be a well written book, I just wasn’t keen on the overall plot. There is no doubt in my mind that John Green is a talented writer and I am keen to give more of his works a go – TFIOS was my first reading experience with John Green – but perhaps I’ll give An Abundance of Katherines a miss for a while (:-P).

I’m glad you enjoyed reading my review, even though it was less favourable than your views on the book! :) Usually I have a lot more to say about books that a lot of people liked but I didn’t like. Hahaha. But I try to be sensitive about it, and if I feel that I can’t, then I do refrain from posting my own book review :)Joséphine recently posted Retrospect #29: July 20th

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